


Axiom High

by aj_linguistik



Category: Sword Art Online (Anime & Manga), ソードアート・オンライン - 川原礫 | Sword Art Online - Kawahara Reki
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Art Student! Sheyta, Asexual Character, Asexual Relationship, Asexual Renly, Bisexual Asuna, Bisexual Character, Bisexual Kirito, Bullying, Delinquent With a Heart of Gold! Iskahn, F/F, F/M, Gay Eugeo, Implied/Referenced Underage Sex, Jock Himbo! Bercouli, Lesbian Character, Lesbian Ronye, Lesbian Tiese, M/M, Popular Girl! Fanatio, Teenagers, Theater Kid! Eldrie, Trans Renly, lots of ships
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-22
Updated: 2021-02-10
Packaged: 2021-02-26 01:48:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 11,132
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21525475
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aj_linguistik/pseuds/aj_linguistik
Summary: Three years into high school and he's still not fitting in anywhere. Intimidating people in the hallway are always a problem, and his shyness won't allow him to jump into already-formed social circles easily. But Renly's lonely high school days are over as soon as his classmates Alice and Eldrie take a notice of him. They won't let him stay in the corner alone forever- the biggest struggle is keeping him from running away, though!
Relationships: Alice Zuberg | Alice Synthesis Thirty/Eldrie Woolsburg | Eldrie Synthesis Thirty-One, Asada Shino | Sinon/Yuuki Asuna | Asuna, Bercouli | Bercouli Synthesis One/Fanatio | Fanatio Synthesis Two, Eugeo/Kirigaya Kazuto | Kirito, Iskahn/Sheyta Synthesis Twelve, Kirigaya Suguha | Leafa/Shinozaki Rika | Lisbeth, Nochizawa Eiji | Nautilus | Eiji/Shigemura Yuuna | Yuna, Renly Synthesis Twenty-Seven/Renly's Best Friend, Ronye Arabel/Tiese Shtolienen
Comments: 21
Kudos: 47





	1. Hallway Chaos

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: This idea came out of NOWHERE like truck-kun out to send me to isekai hell. Welp. SO, here's the gist. I thought "Integrity Knights, but they're in high school!" and just ran with it. So, there WILL be a lot of characters and it probably won't be the most solid plot ever, but I really wanted to play with this AU. Also, I love Renly with all of my heart and decided to give him some attention this go-round! I will update tags as I go, ofc. And I'm hoping they give Renly's friend a name tomorrow so I can tag them as a gay ace ship! I'm going to put other notes at the end~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Art credit to myself since I doodled it. :3

Perhaps one of the scariest parts of childhood is that last stretch where one doesn’t want to be seen as a child any longer, but deep down, one knows that adulthood is still legally just out of reach—otherwise known as high school. It is a battlefield unlike any other, and it is universally the woe of many teenagers, whether in the aspect of academics, sports, or social life. Walking through the doors each morning is a challenge not meant for the weak of heart. A single moment of lost focus could get you eaten alive.

Someone walked past quickly, bumping his shoulder. He awkwardly stumbled to the side and clutched his books to his chest, blurting out an apology to the person who was now long gone down the hallway. Why had he been spacing out again? He was going to be late for his next class. Another person walked up from behind him and gave him a smart whack to the back of his head.

“Earth to space cadet Renly,” the boy said, smirking as if he were funny. “Houston, we have a problem—”

“Oi, knock it off!”

Renly turned to his right and felt his stomach drop. The person intervening was just as intimidating as the person who’d hit him. A muscular teen who should have been a football player by that build but was someone who’d been kicked off for trying to fight the other players when they picked on weaker students. He wore a beanie, a leather jacket, and a few pieces of jewelry. His blond hair was sticking out from beneath the beanie in several directions.

“What are you, his bodyguard, Iskahn?”

Huffing, the blond reached over and pushed the other boy away.

“Go home and cry to your mom that you ran out of hairspray, Raios,” Iskahn said. “This kid’s just walking to class. He’s not bothering you.”

The tension in the air was thick. Renly swallowed and tried to step around the two, hoping to scurry off to class and avoid an incident. Instead, Raios reached out and grabbed the collar of his shirt. He yelped and tried to walk faster. Raios’ grip was a lot tighter than he’d expected. He glanced over his shoulder and saw Iskahn grab Raios’ shirt from the front.

“Let him go or I’ll punch your lights out!” he said.

_Please…please let me go_ …

He kept tugging, trying to get out of Raios’ grasp. He didn’t want to be late.

“You wouldn’t do that!” Raios huffed. “You’re already in enough trouble as it is!”

To directly defy the bully’s words, Iskahn threw a punch square into his nose. Raios finally let go of Renly’s shirt and flew backwards, knocking both himself and Renly over. The latter let out a yelp as he took an unexpected topple to the floor. Not wanting to stick around for what happened next, Renly hurriedly snatched up the books he’d dropped and then sprung to his feet, bolting off down the hallway to his chemistry class.

He slipped in just as the bell rang and melted into his seat, exhausted from just one encounter with two very intimidating people. Next to him, his lab partner frowned and gave him a questioning look. She had one headphone in her ear, barely noticeable under her ponytail set to the side.

“Your boyfriend’s out in the hallway beating up Raios…” Renly mumbled.

She smiled.

“No, I’m serious, Sheyta!” he said. “He punched him in the nose!”

Sheyta was an upperclassman. Since Renly was in the advanced track, he took classes with some people who were older than him. The two had been lab partners since the beginning of the course. She didn’t talk much, but she was quite friendly. She was an art student who mostly kept to herself or was hanging around her boyfriend, Iskahn.

“Did he deserve a punch to the nose?” Sheyta asked.

Renly frowned. He didn’t want to form an opinion on that. He sunk into his chair and tried to focus on class. Today’s topic was on molecular valence. Flipping open his notebook, he began to take down notes at the speed of light. Because that was how high school went. You had your hallway incidents, your designated place in the social hierarchy, and then all of that melted away the moment you were in your seat for class.

He didn’t mix in with other groups well. He wasn’t a jock or a delinquent. He didn’t take the art classes like Sheyta. While he played an instrument, he didn’t click well with the other band members. He hadn’t joined any clubs, nor did he hang around with kids too long after school. But he didn’t realize that his lonely high school life was about to change.

A knock sounded on the classroom door. The teacher stopped his lecturing and got up to answer it. Renly watched him open the door and shrank down in his chair when he saw it was the vice principal. The teacher turned around and looked at him. His stomach dropped.

“Renly, would you step out into the hall, please?” the teacher asked.

All of the class’ eyes were on him. He swallowed, nodded, and slipped out of his chair to scurry into the hallway. The vice principal closed the door behind them and pulled him aside so that the other students couldn’t see them together out in the hallway. Renly stared down at his feet. He tried to think through why he might be standing here in the hallway. He hadn’t joined Iskahn and Raios’ fight. He was confident in that.

“Don’t look so frightened, you’re not in trouble,” the man said.

Renly lifted his head a little, casting a wary glance up at him.

“I’m just a bit worried that you’re not speaking up to us about the bullying,” he said. “Iskahn came to my office because he got into a fight with Raios earlier and he said that he wanted to intervene because you were being picked on. Is this happening frequently?”

So, Iskahn had told the truth about the fight. Renly felt his legs start to shake. If the vice principal knew, then he was certainly going to be telling Renly’s parents about this.

“I-I’m fine,” he stammered.

The vice principal hummed.

“If something’s happening, it’s okay to speak up about it,” he said. “This school shouldn’t be a scary place. It should be a safe place for you to learn and enjoy your time. Please, let me know if I can help you in any way.”

Renly just gave him a curt nod. He didn’t want to delve any further into that. Since he didn’t give away any more than that, he was allowed to go back to class with a final offer to help if he wanted any. He just shook his head and went back to class. He tried not to focus on the conversation at all. Class was over before he knew it, and once again, he had to brave the hallways.

He scurried over to his locker, only to frown at the sight of two popular kids leaning up against the spot making out. Star football player Bercouli and his girlfriend, the Most Popular GirlTM Fanatio, seemed lost in one another’s presence. Beneath them, on the bottom row, was Renly’s locker. He scrunched up his shoulders and edged over closer to them.

“U-um…excuse me,” he said.

They kept kissing one another, oblivious to the boy next to them. He shifted uneasily. Why did people have to do this sort of thing at school, anyways? Couldn’t they find somewhere private to make out? He stood there and contemplated how to ask them to move for a bit too long. Someone else decided to interrupt them.

“Could you please go elsewhere to do this? I’m trying to get to my locker.”

Renly, Bercouli, and Fanatio all turned to look at the newcomer on the scene, who had his arms cross over his chest. Renly wasn’t familiar with this person’s name, but he knew the face from some of the school’s theater advertisements. He was, coincidentally, Renly’s locker neighbor. As if to add a dramatic flair to his irritation, he flipped his lavender hair to the side.

“Oh, hey, Eldrie,” Fanatio said, smiling. “Did you need something?”

Frowning, he jabbed a finger at the locker behind her back.

“My personal items!” he said. “I don’t want to run back here after club. And it would seem you’re blocking the path to this young man’s things as well!”

Renly tensed up at being included in this and shrank down into his shoulders even more. Now the couple was staring at him, too. He swallowed. He would leave if he could just grab his things. That was all he wanted. Hopefully, they would just move aside, and the circle wouldn’t get any bigger or more noticeable than this.

Sadly, this was not the case.

“Eldrie, what are you doing?”

Once again, the members of the circle turned their attention to the newcomer, who just so happened to be the junior class president. Her blue eyes skimmed over the present group and she hummed, gently tucking her blonde hair behind her ear.

“Alice!” he exclaimed. “I…I was just asking them to please move aside so that we can get our things.”

He gestured between himself and Renly. His cheeks were a little pink. Alice glanced at the two and then looked over to the couple, who were still leaning up against the lockers, unbothered by the fiasco. She sighed.

“Would you at least let these boys get their things?” she asked. “It’ll take just a moment, I’m sure.”

“Yeah, sure!” Bercouli said, grinning. “I don’t mind.”

He backed up, allowing Fanatio to pull herself off of the wall, and playfully pulled her over to him by the waist. Eldrie made a face at them, but then immediately turned to Alice, a pleasant smile on his lips, and nodded his head at her.

“Thank you,” he said.

Renly nodded, too, not wanting to seem rude.

“Yes! Thank you!” he said.

“No problem!” Alice said. “Say, I haven’t seen you around much. Are you one of the underclassmen?”

He felt his shoulders shake. He hadn’t expected her to talk to him. Eldrie seemed the slightest bit annoyed that she was talking to Renly instead of him, but otherwise he didn’t say anything as he grabbed his messenger bag out of the locker. Renly glanced at him, and then he turned back to Alice and nodded.

“I’m a freshman,” he said.

“What’s your name?” she asked. “I’m Alice, this is my friend Eldrie.”

He clutched his textbook tightly to his chest.

“I’m Renly,” he said. “It’s nice to meet you both.”

Feeling too shy, he dropped down to his own locker and pulled out his things. He slipped his chemistry textbook and notes into the backpack and zipped it up quickly. Tossing the backpack on his back, he turned to make a hasty departure, but was stopped short by Eldrie stepping in front of him.

“Would you like to check out some after-school clubs?” he asked. “My theater club is working on _Hamlet_ this semester. You don’t have to act, of course, you can work on sets or just mingle with people if you like.”

Alice elbowed him.

“Calm down,” she said. “You look like you’re intimidating him!”

Eldrie seemed surprised at this.

“I don’t mean to threaten him!” he exclaimed. “I simply wish to invite him to join in!”

“Well, try to lower your tone a little bit,” she said. “I know you don’t intend to come on strong, but he’s shaking, the least you could do is—”

Alice was abruptly interrupted by a loud blast from a trumpet a little too close to her face. She whirled around and snatched the surprise trumpet player’s arm, yanking him over into the circle. The boy laughed nervously and grinned at her.

“Happy Monday!” he exclaimed.

She snatched the trumpet out of his hands and frowned at it.

“This isn’t yours, Kirito,” she grumbled. “And look, now _you’re_ scaring Renly, too!”

The raven-haired boy turned his attention to Renly and innocently waved at him. Renly awkwardly waved back. He had to escape this situation. It was getting a bit overwhelming. He hurriedly apologized and told the group good-bye, turned around, and stopped short when a blond-haired boy bolted around the corner, flying towards them at top speed.

“KIRITO, THAT’S NOT YOUR TRUMPET!”

“Oop, gotta run!” Kirito said, chuckling.

Renly looked back and watched him snatch the trumpet back and dash down the hallway.

“NO RUNNING, YOU TWO!” Alice exclaimed.

But that didn’t stop either of the two from continuing the chase. Renly scurried out of the hall and barely made it in time to the bus stop. He leapt onto his bus and slipped into an open seat near the front. He sighed and clutched his bag to his chest.

_High school_ , he thought, _really_ is _scary._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: So, here's the line-up so far!  
> Renly- shy, kind of nerdy gay ace trans boy!  
> Sheyta- art student, probably listening to heavy metal in her headphones, <3 Iskahn  
> Iskahn- punk who keeps trying to start fights with bullies and got booted from football for fighting, <3 Sheyta  
> Bercouli- absolute himbo, jock on the football team, drank respect women juice, <3 Fanatio  
> Fanatio- Most Popular Girl who plays volleyball and has a little following, <3 Bercouli  
> Eldrie- theater nerd who is hardcore pining for Alice (let's cheer him on!)  
> Alice- junior class president who is well-mannered and very friendly  
> Dakira, Jeis, Hobren, Giro- Fanatio's clique (considering Dakira dating one of them!)  
> Fizel and Linel- middle schoolers who amble over to the high school to pick fights because they think it's fun  
> Deusolbert- quiet member of the archery club  
> Cardinal- library aid  
> Tiese and Ronye- cheerleaders and girlfriends, also the sweetest and will be your friend in a heartbeat  
> Kirito and the main crew- as they are in canon in high school  
> Eugeo- history nerd and Kirito's leash (he tries, at least)  
> Liena and Golgorosso- everyone's big sister and brother in the senior class  
> Quinella- This Bitch TM, fighting for Fanatio's popularity  
> Eiji and Yuna- music students because Yuna dragged him into choir with her and he loves her so...he's here


	2. Two Friends

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Couple of notes- I did edit the previous chapter, for those that read it before. The only edit was to change what year Renly was in high school. I was thinking of having him skip a few grades but...I decided against it. Secondly, my friend @BlueRose_UW from Twitter picked out a name for Renly's beloved! Since the anime didn't give a name for him, he has been named "Jin." I have. Absolutely no idea how to tag this and would love some suggestions from people who read tags for fics!!! I mean. He's not an OC...but SAO fans won't know who that is just from THAT.

The bus ride home always felt long and drawn out. Renly preferred to take the window seat, so he could gaze out at everything as if flew by. But today, since he’d been stalled by the popular girl and guy making out in front of his locker, he’d had no choice but to select an aisle seat instead. He plopped down next to someone he didn’t recognize and hurriedly picked up a book to stick his nose in it.

“What are you reading?”

He jumped when the girl next to him spoke to him suddenly. He lowered the book and gazed at her. Cherry-red hair and ruby eyes to match. She looked familiar, but he couldn’t decide where he’d last seen her. She leaned forward to try and get a look at the title of his book. He turned it to face her.

“I-it’s just my English homework,” he said. “We’re…we’re reading _Night_.”

She hummed.

“I remember that one,” she said. “You must be a freshman.”

He nodded.

“That’s right,” he said. “I guess…you aren’t, then?”

Giggling, she shook her head.

“No, I’m a sophomore,” she said. “My name’s Tiese. And you are?”

He opened his mouth to answer her, but he didn’t need to. A certain loudmouth delinquent popped up over top of a seat a few rows up, having located him somehow.

“RENLY!”

Not wanting to deal with Iskahn’s bold personality, Renly sank down in his seat and groaned. He glanced over at Tiese and gave her a pleading look as the boy climbed out of his seat and stomped down the aisle to stand beside him. He leaned against the chair in front of Renly and nodded at him. Renly sighed.

“Did that punk hurt you again?” Iskahn asked.

Renly shook his head.

“No, I went to class and was fine,” he replied.

Iskahn hummed and leaned over. Renly scrunched up his shoulders and sank down even further into the seat. Tiese looked between the two, seeming a bit flustered by the interaction, but she moved herself more into Iskahn’s range of sight. He perked up when he saw her, but just furrowed his brow.

“D-don’t you think that Renly here is a bit intimidated by your approach?” she asked.

Laughing, Iskahn reached down and wrapped his arm around Renly’s shoulders, preventing his escape into the seat cushion.

“Nah, he’s my good friend!” he said. “I’m just royally pissed off that that loser was picking on him earlier. I gave him a taste of my fists and got suspended.”

Renly sighed.

“So, that’s why you’re on the bus and not going to a club or sports team to bother them,” he said.

Iskahn pressed his fist into Renlly’s temple and twisted it back and forth a few times.

“I don’t bother them!” he exclaimed.

Frowning, Renly let his head drop.

“The Islamic Student Association has gone through the trouble of asking me what you want before,” he said. “Do you know how difficult of a question that is to answer? If I say, ‘He just wants other Muslim friends!’ they give me this look as if they’re wondering if I’m covering for you. And if I say I don’t know, then they beg me to find out.”

Iskahn huffed.

“I do want to make other Muslim friends,” he said, letting go of Renly’s shoulders.

Renly smoothed down his shirt.

“Then act like it,” he said.

He turned to Tiese.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “Sheyta isn’t here to keep tabs on him, so he’s a bit out of control.”

For that, Renly received a smart look from his friend, but nothing more. He knew, at heart, that Iskahn was a good person. His approach was just a bit brash and in-your-face. But his spirit was in the right place, and that was what mattered. Tiese wasn’t used to his approach, and therefore she seemed startled, but Renly hoped that either this interaction would pass, or that she’d come to understand him a little better.

“Ah! This is your stop!” Iskahn exclaimed.

Without warning, he snatched Renly up by the collar and started to drag him and his bag down the aisle. Renly sheepishly waved good-bye to Tiese and tried to avoid eye contact with the other students as he was pulled off of the bus by his friend. Iskahn didn’t let go of Renly’s collar until he’d walked him all of the way to his house.

“Has your mom got any snacks?” he asked.

Renly sighed.

“Aren’t you supposed to be going home to tell your parents you got suspended for fighting?” he asked.

Iskahn smacked his right hand into his left palm.

“Raios totally had that coming!” he said. “That son of a bitch had no fighting spirit at all, and yet he had the audacity to pick a fight with you? He only preyed on the fact that he had slightly more fight in him than you did!”

Those words weren’t very reassuring.

“I’m not sure if I should be grateful or insulted…” Renly said, awkwardly laughing.

“Come on, Renly!” Iskahn roared. “It’s snack time!”

The mighty bully fighter, reduced to a simple man when it came to an afterschool snack. He wheeled Renly into his house and eagerly awaited something to eat. There wasn’t anything special, like Iskahn seemed to think, but there were some leftover cookies that his mom had baked a while ago. He pulled those out and offered them to Iskahn. A quick word of thanks was given, and then he watched his friend gleefully partake of the sweets.

As he ate, he offered to stay with Renly and play a game or hang out, but Renly quietly told him that he had some studying to do. That, naturally, didn’t deter Iskahn from wanting to stick around—despite his delinquent appearance and mannerisms, he was a very studious individual who took his schooling just as seriously as his brawn. He was the sort of person who, when he applied himself, could do anything he set his mind to. But he eventually laid off and agreed to head home, since both knew that he knew Renly preferred to study alone.

They said their good-byes before Renly’s parents returned. He slipped away to his room and shut his bedroom door. The truth was, he didn’t want Iskahn to leave because he wanted to study. He crept over to his bedroom window and opened up the blinds. He glanced at the clock display on his phone. A smile appeared on his lips. He grasped the bottom ledge of the window and yanked it open. He waited a few moments—and then the window in the house across from him opened up, revealing a boy with black hair and dark eyes smiled over at him.

“Hey, Renly!” he said, waving cheerily. “What kept you so long?”

He waved behind himself.

“My friend Iskahn invaded the kitchen for snacks,” he said. “Sorry to keep you waiting, Jin.”

The other boy laughed, his shoulders shaking.

“Again?” he said. “I’d love to meet him one day.”

Renly laughed.

“He’s a good guy,” he insisted. “Just not the picture of what people think when they imagine a good guy. Frankly, he comes off as a delinquent. He got suspended today for punching a guy to protect me.”

“Sounds like a great guy to me,” Jin said.

He leaned on the sill and hummed.

“Is he cute?” he asked.

Renly shook his head and laughed.

“What? No way!” he said. “He’s got a girlfriend! You can’t date Iskahn!”

_Because I want you to date me_ , he wanted to say.

They’d been next door neighbors for as long as they could both remember. They’d gone to the same elementary and middle school, and considered themselves to be best friends. But when they’d reached high schools, zoning was different. Instead of lumping their houses in together, like they’d assumed would happen, the district boundaries were redrawn in such a way that the line crossed right down the space between them now—placing Renly at Axiom High, and Jin over in Centoria High.

When they’d learned they’d have to split schools in high school, they were both sad, but they still lived close enough to talk after school. All they had to do was open their windows and talk across the property line, even when they weren’t supposed to be out at night. They had cellphones and had exchanged each other’s information, of course, years ago, but this was much more enjoyable for the two.

“Aw, man, all the hot guys are already taken!” Jin said, chuckling.

In truth, Renly had felt something of a crush on Jin for a long time. He’d never been bold enough to admit it. Jin was openly gay and had tried dating a few guys before. He had an air of confidence that Renly didn’t quite have, and that was part of why he liked Jin so much. There would be no trouble telling Jin that he, too, was interested in guys, and that he had a crush on him. However, he wasn’t sure how Jin would feel about him being ace.

He’d heard of cases where an asexual person would date an allosexual person and things would get awkward. He hoped that Jin wasn’t that kind of a person, who would judge his partner based on whether or not he was asexual, but the fear lingered. That, and what was worse—presume Jin was okay with an ace partner.

Was he okay with Renly as a partner?

The question plagued him so much more than the first. His talk about hot guys always made Renly feel as if he might not fall into that category. He did his best—his features still looked a bit feminine, but since he’d started his transition his voice sounded different. Would Jin be okay with that? Was Renly attractive to him? The only way to know would be to ask. But instead, he just chatted about school.

“So, was someone bullying you again, Renly?” Jin asked. “Do I need to go punch someone? Was it to misgender you?”

Renly shook his head.

“No, no, Raios is just a jerk,” he insisted.

As the conversation continued, Renly did wonder if some day he’d have the courage to tell his best friend he liked him. He wasn’t sure what was scarier—high school, or the feelings stirring inside his chest.


	3. Lunch Buddies

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: You what up I'm AJ, I'm 24, and I never learned how to- wait.

Saturdays were special days. Renly kept this in the forefront of his mind on Friday while he ducked out of Raios’ way in the hallway and carried on with his classes. They were special because it was the one day a week where he and Jin had agreed to have a study session together. They’d always follow it up with games or maybe an outing downtown to shop for something with their allowances. Nothing ever broke up that date. It had only been a few weeks since they’d started high school, but they’d had this tradition going back into elementary school.

He pondered about the upcoming study session while he sat at lunch. He had plenty of work to do already, partially because Iskahn kept interrupting his homework hours in the afternoons and partially because he saved certain bits to go over with Jin. If there was a subject that one understood better than the other, they’d save those questions to help the other out on Saturday. Renly thought about a few history questions he had while he chewed on his pizza.

Lunch was particularly quiet today, since his loud friend wasn’t around, but the peace didn’t last long. Two semi-familiar faces walked over to the table, arguing about something, and then chose to sit down right in front of Renly, still carrying on about their little debate. Renly blinked at the two of them. The one with the black hair he’d seen before—the guy with the trumpet who’d interrupted the student council president while she spoke.

“I’m just saying, it’s faster than shoving through the crowded hallway,” he was saying. “It’s not like using the roof as a shortcut is against the rules.”

His blond friend shook his head.

“It’s dangerous, Kirito!” he said. “Just because there’s no specific rule for it doesn’t mean you can do it! Students aren’t allowed on the roof! Think of the example you’re setting to the underclassmen!”

Kirito rolled his eyes. He suddenly looked at Renly, set his elbows on the table on either side of his tray, folded his hands, and gave him the most serious expression he could manage.

“What do you think?” he asked.

Renly blinked a few times.

“Me?” he asked.

Kirito nodded.

“Yes, you,” he said. “Is it a problem if I use the roof as a shortcut to get between the library and the science hall?”

Knitting his brow together, Renly wondered if he even needed to think about that. Students weren’t allowed on the roof. The blond guy had clearly highlighted that. It was a problem so long as it was against the rules. Danger didn’t need to be a factor in this equation whatsoever. Renly swallowed and nodded.

“If we aren’t allowed on the roof, you shouldn’t be on the roof,” he said, averting his eyes.

The blond waved his hand emphatically.

“See? The freshman agrees with me,” he said.

Kirito rolled his eyes.

“Don’t be a smartass, Eugeo,” he said.

“Oh! If it isn’t Renly!”

Both Kirito and Eugeo stopped talking and turned their heads when a newcomer approached. Renly stared up at his locker neighbor, wondering at what point had he become so familiar with Eldrie, but there was no point in questioning this, either. Eldrie sat down beside him and gestured to the braids on the sides of his face.

“I forgot to ask the other day, but where did you learn to braid so well?” he asked. “I haven’t grown my hair out long enough to try it, but maybe I would grow it out if I had such a skill.”

Renly blushed a bit and fiddled with a fork on his lunch tray.

“Oh, my friend Jin taught me,” he said. “He said I’d look nice with braids.”

The three boys all leaned in, suddenly smiling.

“Ohhhh do you like him?” Kirito asked.

“Is that your crush?” Eugeo asked.

“Or is he perhaps your boyfriend?” Eldrie added.

Renly felt his face flush with even more heat. He didn’t know how to answer the onslaught of questions.

“W-well…he’s not my boyfriend…” he stammered.

Eldrie nodded solemnly.

“I feel your pain,” he said. “I, too, struggle with how to ask out my own crush.”

Kirito snorted.

“Eldrie, don’t be so elegant,” he said. “We all know you want to sleep with Alice.”

Now, Eldrie’s face was red, too.

“I…I would do no such thing! I am a gentleman!” he exclaimed. “There is more to a young, budding relationship than sexual acts!”

Kirito raised his eyebrows coyly and took a sip of his tea. Eugeo gave him a sideways look, but didn’t add any comments in defense of Eldrie, which made Renly think he agreed with Kirito on this point. Eldrie, on the other hand, got a different message from the glance, gasped, and shook his head.

“Shame on you!” he said, pointing between them. “We have things to study! Abstinence!”

Renly turned to look at Eldrie.

“Are they together?” he asked.

Eugeo chuckled.

“Well, yes,” he said. “Kirito’s my boyfriend.”

Kirito just muttered something into his drink. Renly heard Eugeo’s shoe stomp down on Kirito’s foot. The latter yelped and spat tea all over his tray. He looked over at Eugeo apologetically as he wiped off his mouth and the surrounding table. Eugeo turned back to Renly with a smile as if nothing had even happened.

“So, does this Jin go to our school?” he asked.

Renly shook his head.

“No, he’s over at Centoria High,” he said. “The zoning line runs right between our houses. It was unfortunate, but we’ve been keeping up with having study sessions on the weekends so we can still see each other quite a bit. Being neighbors makes it a lot easier. I still miss him, though. He’s a bit mischievous, like you, Kirito.”

Frowning, Kirito widened his eyes.

“I’m not—” he started, but Eugeo cut him off.

“He sounds fun,” Eugeo said, still grinning. “Have you considered asking him out?”

At that, Renly lowered his head and shook it. Even though he wanted to ask Jin out, he didn’t want to just tell everyone here what the trouble was. It was better if he worked through it and found the courage. It wasn’t any of their business, anyways. They were just here to have a conversation. He could keep it to just that.

“Not yet,” he said.

Eldrie let out a dramatic sigh.

“This simply will not do!” he said. “We must help you win the heart of your beloved!”

Renly shook his head.

“No, really, it’s fine,” he said. “I-I don’t need any help.”

Kirito chuckled.

“Don’t worry, we have your back,” he said. “Quest: Start!”

Renly didn’t even want to ask what he meant by that. He slumped down onto the table next to his tray and shook his head while Eldrie reached over and patted him on the back. He was getting dragged into this scheme whether he wanted to or not. Hopefully, things wouldn’t get too out of hand.


	4. The Trouble with Rumors

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: This kinda stems from some weird personal experiences in high school. I know not all high schools deal with a lot of this, but mine definitely did. I lost track and then was like OOP LOOP THIS BACK TO RENLY YO- you'll see where I went off on a tangent.

The lunch Renly had eaten wasn’t sitting well in his stomach as he sat in music class thinking about the plans of his upperclassmen to play wingman with him. The band director had stepped out into the hallway to talk to one of the men from IT, Mr. Higa, who was trying to explain to him the details of the broken band-room projector. The classroom broke into light chatter. A few people had moved around. Renly glanced over to his left and saw two of the school’s most notable choir students, Eiji and Yuuna, pressed up against each other like they were alone. It wasn’t nearly as uncomfortable as running into Bercouli and Fanatio in the hall, but he grimaced anyways.

To his right, a few girls were having a quiet conversation that sounded like gossip directed at the touchy couple. From what he understood of the upperclassmen, Eiji wasn’t exactly well-liked among the student body—something that wasn’t so much his fault originally. He’d had to overcome intense stage fright to be in choir, but he was very determined to be at Yuuna’s side. Students had bullied and mocked him for his fear, telling him that he should just quit. Now that he was an upperclassman, that fear had been long dealt with, but he’d turned a bit rough because of the bullying.

“Did you hear about Yuuna?” one girl said. “I feel so sorry for her.”

Renly glanced over at them, frowned, and then glanced back over at the couple. Yuuna was now sitting in Eiji’s lap, and he was messing with her hair. A second girl giggled.

“Yeah, poor thing,” she said. “Her father must be pissed. Such a goody-two-shoes. Serves her right.”

Their commentary irked Renly a bit, but the thought of confronting them was intimidating. He didn’t know what they were talking about to begin with. Coming at them without knowing that would only make the situation worse. He picked up his pencil and started to write down some notes on the music sheets for self-reference.

“Gosh, but any baby she had would be so ugly,” the first girl said. “It’s a shame; Eiji’s so pretty, but he’ll have an ugly kid…”

Renly almost choked on a breath. He coughed a little, trying not to draw attention to himself. The rumor was that Yuuna and Eiji were having a baby? The mere thought of it made his head spin. He knew that sort of thing happened, but he hadn’t really seen any proof of it yet at Axiom High. His mother had told him that a few girls had been pregnant in high school when she was a teenager. His eyes wandered back over to the couple. They were completely oblivious to the claims that they’d been sleeping together that were being shared right in this very classroom. He frowned and turned back to his music sheets, only to see the stand knocked over by someone’s hand.

“I heard that,” the first girl said.

Looking up, Renly felt his heart stop. The girl, who had long, pale lavender hair and mirror-like eyes, was glaring down at him with an intense frown. He could imagine flames dancing in her eyes. She crossed her arms over her chest, never blinking. He swallowed and glanced back over at Eiji and Yuuna, who were now staring at him because of the disruption.

“Did you have something to say, freshman?” she asked, her voice like ice.

His heart pounded in his chest. He’d wanted to avoid confrontation at all costs. He swallowed. Now that she was here, he probably had to say something.

“I-it’s not nice,” he stammered. “What you’re saying. It’s not nice.”

Someone behind the girl gasped.

“He just talked back to Quinella!” one girl whispered.

Another guy made an awkward guttural sound.

“Ah, man, that freshie’s _fucked_ ,” he said.

The girl, whose name was Quinella, furrowed her brow. She leaned forward over Renly, the intensity of her presence permeating the air around him. He felt like it was a bit harder to breathe. His chest tightened up.

“What was that?” she said. “Not nice? But it’s true, isn’t it?”

Her eyes flitted up over Renly, staring at Eiji and Yuuna.

“He knocked Yuuna up, didn’t he?”

Renly heard Yuuna gasp, and then the sound of footsteps running to the door. It clicked open, then the footsteps echoed in the hallway after a brief exclamation of surprise from the teacher and Mr. Higa. The door closed rather calmly in comparison. Another set of footsteps sounded; these stepped closer to Renly. He swallowed and took a quick peek. Eiji was now standing behind him, giving Quinella a dangerous, cutting glare.

“I did what, now?” he said.

Quinella huffed and placed her hands on her hips.

“You heard me,” she said. “Oh? Did she not tell you? A little birdy did pass it down the line from the girls’ room. She was overheard telling Asuna that her period was late. I wonder whose fault that is? Hmm?”

Not wanting to be trapped in the middle of these two angry older students, Renly ducked down and scrambled backwards away from them. He’d ducked out just in time to see Eiji take a swing at Quinella. She laughed and jumped to the side to dodge. The teacher came back into the classroom and rushed over to pull Eiji away from her. He struggled against the teacher’s grasp. Renly sighed and dropped down to pick up his music sheets. Class was almost over. He’d be grateful for that.

After settling the almost-fight down, the teacher resumed the class as if nothing had happened. At the end, Renly snatched up his things and hurried out of the classroom, not wanting to deal with either Quinella or Eiji. He made it outside into the front courtyard without an incident. Taking in a deep breath, he shook his head, ready to put it all behind him, but as he walked past the benches out front, he heard quiet crying that sounded a bit familiar. He turned his head to see Yuuna with her knees pulled up to her face, softly sobbing into her skirt. Swallowing, he went and sat down beside her.

“Um…hi,” he said. “I’m sorry I couldn’t…stand up to her better…”

His mumbling probably meant nothing, and yet Yuuna lifted her head out of her knees and shook her head at him.

“No, thank you,” she said. “Thank you for telling her that wasn’t nice.”

He grasped the back of his neck and bit his lip.

“She shouldn’t say things if she doesn’t know the truth,” he said.

Yuuna nodded.

“She might not be wrong,” she said meekly.

Renly’s eyes widened a bit. He hadn’t come here for a confession. But this girl clearly needed someone to talk to that wasn’t going to slut-shame her. He wasn’t really equipped for this sort of thing, so all he could do was lend an ear and be a friend to her. It reminded him of Jin, strangely enough. Jin would hear him out about being trans or about being ace, and he wouldn’t know much about either of those things, but he’d be there when Renly needed to talk about it.

There was a funny look in Yuuna’s eyes. She hugged her knees a little tighter. Those five little words carried heavy implications with them. Renly had never been in such a situation. He could imagine it wasn’t easy. She kept her eyes down on the sidewalk, looking a bit lost and sad, yet a smile tugged at the edges of her lips.

“My father’s very strict,” she said. “He’s never liked Eiji, even though I love Eiji very much. I want them to see eye to eye someday. Because Eiji supports my dreams and will do anything to make sure they come true.”

Renly nodded.

“I hope the person I like is like Eiji,” he said quietly.

Yuuna smiled brightly, this time turning to look at him.

“I hope they are, too,” she said.

She dropped her legs down to set her feet on the ground. Her hand gently pressed against her front.

“I hadn’t meant for anyone but Asuna to overhear,” she said, her voice wavering. “I haven’t even told Eiji. If it’s true, then my father will be furious and want to take it out on him, and I don’t think I could bear it. It’s true that I’m late…and it’s true that it could be because of that…”

The information felt a bit too sensitive. Renly felt his face flush with embarrassment. Was he really the person to be hearing about this?

“I’m scared to go and get a test,” Yuuna said. “I’m scared to tell Eiji. I’m scared to tell my father. If it’s a false alarm, I’ll never live down the humiliation. If it’s not, we’re in our last year of high school. Eiji will turn eighteen in April…I won’t even be eighteen at graduation. What am I supposed to do?”

Her situation was so foreign to him. He couldn’t answer why or how he’d ended up here, talking with her about this like they were best friends. But he did know that making hard decisions—like telling your boyfriend you might be pregnant or confessing to your childhood friend that you were in love with him—those were decisions that one had to be bold about.

“I have something difficult I want to tell the person I’m in love with, too,” he said, staring down at his hands. “Obviously, it isn’t quite what you’re going through. But it is something very difficult and scary. I think…I think we should both try our best and tell them. Because we love them very much.”

Yuuna looked over at me, eyes smiling.

“Besides,” he said. “If you’re scared to go test, wouldn’t you be less scared with Eiji by your side?”

Surprise replaced her smile. She clutched the fabric of her shirt over her belly, hummed for a moment, and then looked back over at him, nodded.

“You’re right,” she said. “I’ll do my best, and I’ll tell Eiji when we’re away from prying ears.”

She stood up, smoothed down her clothing, and then put her hands on her hips.

“And I wish you good luck, too,” she said. “Whatever you need to tell the person you love, I hope you do so soon, and that it goes over well.”

Renly hopped to his feet, returning her smile.

“Right,” he said. “And I hope that no matter what happens, Eiji is supportive through this, too.”

She thanked him for listening and offering some advice. She even offered him her phone number, saying that they should definitely keep talking. It seemed that she and Eiji didn’t have that many people they felt comfortable talking to, so having a kind person like Renly to talk to was refreshing. As she hurried off to find her boyfriend, Renly wondered if he should invite the pair to the study sessions, too. At this point, he’d have an army there, though.

“Ahhhhhh! There you are!”

Renly jumped and turned around, shocked to see Iskahn marching up to him.

“A-aren’t you suspended?” he stammered.

Iskahn laughed.

“Still gotta join you on the journey home!” he exclaimed.

Perhaps Eiji and Yuuna as study buddies would be, in comparison, just as refreshing for him as he supposedly was for them.


	5. Wisdom in Chaos

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I'm getting really busy as graduate studies start back up and my graduate research continues and my graduate assistantship begins! Wow, that makes me sound like a nerd. But that's good, right? In the spring, I'm earning that second degree!!! Ain't nothing gonna stop me!

Saturday was, in a word, intimidating.

Renly found himself entertaining not just Jin, but five upperclassmen and the ever-intrigued Iskahn and Sheyta as well. With introductions naturally needing to be in order, Renly did his best to explain each member to Jin and why they were there—even if he wasn’t _quite_ so sure why Kirito, Eugeo, and Eldrie wanted to be there in the first place. As it turned out, the bunch was much livelier than expected, and Renly learned a very important detail about Kirito—

He was an instigator.

There was apparently some weird history between him and Eiji that Renly hadn’t been aware of. From the gist of things, it may or may not have had to do with a difference of opinion on some award Kirito received in mechatronics. Either way, it was obvious that the two didn’t get along well, and that was just the first weird thing Renly noticed.

Kirito also didn’t seem to get along well with Eldrie. He’d noticed that at their lunch conversations (which were getting more and more frequent, to his dismay), but he couldn’t place what exactly the issue was. The more Renly watched them as they discussed some math over the dining room table, the more it was apparent that Kirito had no issue with Eldrie whatsoever—Eldrie just clearly did not like Kirito.

But this was where it boiled down to Kirito being an instigator. He obviously knew and recognized that two of the people in the room didn’t like him—so, being the brilliant individual he claimed to be, Kirito took advantage of any opportunity that presented itself as a chance to mess with the two people who disliked him most. The first offense involved ice. And that ice was tossed down the back of Eiji’s shirt.

“Your school friends are pretty colorful,” Jin said, laughing as Eiji unleashed a string of words that Renly’s mother would never approve of. “Where do you find them? In class? After school?”

Renly shook his head.

“Kirito just kind of…appeared,” he said, sighing.

Jin patted his shoulder.

“He’s certainly spirited,” he said. “I think I’ll get along with your friends just great! You should invite them over more often! This is pretty fun!”

At what point had Renly forgotten that Jin was just as mischievous as Kirito? He sighed and resigned himself, once more, to a noisy fate. His eyes slowly followed Kirito and Eiji as the pair dashed around the room, somehow still taking care to not knock anything over. Eldrie had started giving his opinion on their “horseplay” in the house, while Eugeo was offering a clear disapproval every so often. Yuuna stepped away from the chaos and stood beside Renly and Jin.

“Can I get you anything?” Renly offered, unsure of how to apologize for the chaos.

Yuuna hummed for a moment.

“Could I get a glass of water?” she asked.

He nodded and quickly set about fixing her a glass. Jin slipped between them and made quick work of introducing himself to her. When Renly brought her the glass, she was laughing at something he’d said.

“So, how did you two meet?” she asked.

Renly and Jin shared a smile. Jin wrapped his arm around Renly’s shoulders and pulled him into a sideways hug.

“Been this guy’s neighbor since before we were born!” he exclaimed. “We also went to elementary and middle school together. How do you know him?”

Yuuna laughed.

“Music class,” she said. “My boyfriend and I are in the choir, so we know a few different faces from the band and choir. Although, I think this is my first time encountering your friend Iskahn…he’s…”

Renly sighed.

“A handful, I know,” he groaned.

He turned his head to look for Iskahn, but he was yanked away from the conversation suddenly by Kirito, who had slipped away from Eiji and was now dragging him towards the bathroom.

“Hey, Renly, come here a sec!”

Renly reluctantly allowed his senior to whisk him away, not wanting to point out that Kirito’s words were meaningless if he was already pulling him along behind himself. They stopped in front of the bathroom door, and Kirito had his hand on his chin as if he were in deep thought. Renly frowned at him for a moment until he finally spoke up.

“So, he seems friendly,” he said. “What’s your plan of attack?”

Renly blinked at him.

“My…my what now?” he stammered.

Kirito nodded his head back and forth.

“Yeah, yeah, like, what’s your move?” he said. “You’re really into Jin, right? And it’s my job as your senior classmate to help you achieve your goals!”

Blinking even more, Renly racked his brain for a reason as to why Kirito wanted to invest in this. He gained nothing from it and barely knew Renly, though their lunchtime exchanges had been increasing in the absence of Iskahn. When the latter returned, he feared he’d be sitting at a table with little sense and a high volume.

“So, I guess I want to know what your plan is for asking him out?” he asked.

Renly sighed and glanced in the direction of the dining area that they’d just left behind.

“I don’t really know,” he said. “I’ve had a crush on him for as long as I can remember, but how do you tell your best friend that?”

Kirito smiled and let out a small chuckle.

“It’s not easy,” he said.

Tilting his head, Renly gazed at Kirito.

“What do you mean?” he asked.

The older boy nodded in the direction they’d come from.

“Eugeo is my childhood best friend,” he said. “And it was pretty difficult to ask him out. But my other best friend told me that if I never told him how I really felt, I’d be waiting forever. Someone always has to bridge the gap.”

Renly frowned.

“Weren’t you scared that it would ruin your friendship?” he asked.

Kirito laughed and nodded.

“Sure, I was,” he said. “But I’m glad I took the risk.”

The smile on his face was enough to tell Renly what he meant. There wasn’t any doubt in Kirito’s eyes that he knew he’d made the right decision. He’d chosen to risk losing a friend to gain a partner, and he’d clearly won that gamble. He reached over and patted Renly on the shoulder. Renly looked up at him.

“It’s fair if you don’t want to rush it,” he said. “But if you really love Jin, and he’s as good of a friend as he seems to be, whether the answer’s a yes or a no, you’ll still be friends. A true friend won’t abandon you over that.”

With his piece being said, Kirito slipped around him and disappeared into the bathroom. Renly pressed a hand to his chest and thought about Kirito’s words. He and Jin had been friends for so long that it would hurt more than he could express in words to lose him. But he also wanted that right to reach out and hold his hand or to lean up against him and it not be weird. He drew in a deep breath. It was just like he’d told Yuuna the other day. He had to be brave.

“Right,” he told himself. “I’m going to tell him. Before the end of the school year, I’m going to tell him!”

He was yanked back into his chaotic Saturday when he heard an exclamation from behind him in the bathroom.

“WHOA! THIS LIGHT HAS SEVERAL BRIGHTNESS SETTINGS!”

Sighing, Renly slumped back over, his small bit of confidence shaken once more.

“Not today, though…” he muttered.


	6. An Encounter, a Chance, and a Slip

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I feel like I went three different directions with this chapter I'm tired and I'm probably just world-building more than I need to.

Renly selected a book from off of the library shelf and flipped open the cover to get an idea of what its contents were. For history, they had to do research on a famous battle or conflict in history. He’d selected the Battle of Bataan, a battle that had occurred in 1942 as a part of World War II. His interest came from his mom’s side of the family being Filipino. He sighed and sat the book down on a cart. He made his way over to the main desk and waited for the librarian, a sweet, very short lady named Ms. Cardinal. When she turned around to him, she smiled at him.

“Can I help you find something?” she asked.

He nodded.

“I’m looking for any references that talk about the Battle of Bataan,” he said. “Perhaps books on World War II that include the Japanese conquest of Asia, Filipino history books, or maybe a general book on the second world war that could include details about Japan and the U.S. getting involved in the Philippines.”

Ms. Cardinal smiled and nodded her head. She did a quick search in her system and then let out a chuckle.

“There’s a few, but the best one is already checked out,” she said. “If you haven’t met the resident history buff yet, it might do you some good to flag him down. He’s always walking out of here with stacks upon stacks of history books.”

Renly tilted his head, watching her as she wrote down the names of the books to look for.

“History buff?” he repeated.

She nodded.

“And speak of the devil, here he comes now,” she said.

Renly turned around and choked when he saw Eugeo walking up to the desk with a rather large stack of books in his arms. Eugeo glanced over at him and smiled as he set the books down on the counter.

“What are you in the library for, Renly?” he asked.

Tearing his gaze away from the stack of books, Renly gave Eugeo a sheepish smile.

“Oh, just some books to look into the Battle of Bataan,” he said.

Eugeo pulled one of the books out of the stack and handed it to Ms. Cardinal. She chuckled and then checked it back in. She lifted a finger to her lips as she then checked it back out and handed it over to Renly.

“Since I’m the head librarian, I’ll overlook the formalities since there are so few,” she said, handing Renly the piece of paper she’d been writing on. “If you can’t find these three, then let me or another librarian know.”

He dipped his head in thanks. He took the book and paper and scurried back over to the right section to find them. Fortunately, they were all rather easy finds. Aside from Eugeo, it also appeared that no one else had checked them out of the library in a long while. He tucked them into his arms and started to head back to the front desk when he ran into yet another familiar face: Yuuna. She smiled at him and waved her hand.

“H-hi,” he stammered. “How are you? I’m terribly sorry about Saturdays…they’re so loud now that everyone’s coming over to study.”

She waved her hands.

“It’s okay, I promise,” she said, laughing. “Though I suppose I worry about them being a bit too rowdy…”

She touched one hand to her stomach and sighed.

“So, did you find anything good about the Battle of Bataan?” she asked, immediately diverting the subject.

He nodded and patted the books he was holding.

“These will be really helpful, I think,” he said.

Yuuna smiled and nodded.

“Good,” she said. “I’m sure your research report will look very nice.”

He laughed. He wasn’t the best at history, but he would do everything he good to make it count.

“So, what brings you to the library?” he asked.

Yuuna sighed.

“Eiji’s been having some bad headaches lately,” she said. “It’s the quietest place to study, so we often study here when we’re not at your place. I think he’s stressing out because we’re trying to figure out how to tell my father.”

Renly swallowed.

“So…?” he started.

She nodded.

“The test was positive,” she whispered. “Not that I’m upset, of course, but I don’t know where to go from here. Though, we did decide on one thing for certain.”

Renly blinked at her.

“And what’s that?” he asked.

Yuuna clasped her hands in front of her chest.

“Since you stood up for us when many people wouldn’t, we decided that we wanted you to be the baby’s godfather,” she said, laughing. “I know you’re three grades behind us, but until you’re old enough it’ll just be in name and not official. As long as that’s…okay with you.”

Renly felt overwhelmed and special at the same time. He didn’t know the first thing about godparents, so as he nodded and told her it was okay, he wasn’t sure what he was getting himself into. Yuuna walked with him to front desk as he checked everything out. While he was doing that, Eiji walked up behind him and joined them. They left the library as a trio and stepped out into the hallway.

“Would you look at that?” Eiji said. “Today, Eldrie is presenting Alice with…is that a fake flower?”

Yuuna giggled.

“Well, he _is_ president of the drama club,” she said. “Do you think he’s actually asking her out or is he pretending to ask her out because he’s too shy?”

Eiji rolled his eyes.

“All I can say is good luck, man,” Eiji muttered.

“Good luck? Like, as in, good luck explaining to Dr. Shigemura that you knocked up his daughter?”

The trio turned their heads to see the face of Quinella and her ever-loyal posse following right behind her. Eiji balled his hands up into fists. He stepped forward, likely ready to throw a punch, when Renly stepped forward, too, and grasped Eiji by the arm. Eiji looked down at him, and he shook his head.

“They’re not worth it,” Renly said.

“You’re telling me.”

Renly jumped as Bercouli, from seemingly out of nowhere, stepped into the scene. He was present with his own group: Fanatio leaning on his arm at the front, and trailing behind them, the so-called Four Whirling Setters—the best players on the varsity volleyball team. Somehow, this had turned into a battle of the cliques.

“We should slip out of here…” Yuuna said, taking a step back.

Renly nodded in agreement.

“I hate to suggest you’ve crossed a line,” Bercouli said, “but do you have any proof of what you said?”

Quinella straightened up and tilted her chin up.

“She said it herself to Asuna,” she said. “Isn’t her admission proof enough?”

One of the setters stepped forward.

“Eavesdropping on a lady is shameful!” she said. “And doing so to ruin her good name is even more so!”

Quinella narrowed her eyes.

“Back off, Dakira,” she hissed. “Or are you just angry because she’s eye candy for you and Eiji stole her away?”

Eiji tugged against Renly’s grip a bit.

“That was uncalled for,” he said. “Just because Dakira likes girls it doesn’t mean that every girl she sees is ‘eye candy.’ Why don’t you mind your damn business? We all know you sleep with every man you see. So, stop judging her when you’re the one actually being a whore.”

Both groups of girls let out a dramatic “oooooh” and stepped away from Eiji and Quinella. Renly swallowed, let go of Eiji’s arm, and then scrambled over to Yuuna’s side. She sighed and shook her head.

“Ei, let’s go,” she said.

Eiji looked conflicted as he turned around and glanced between Renly and Yuuna. Both were pleading with him to back down and leave. He wavered for a moment, but then Bercouli stepped forward and placed a hand on his shoulder.

“I understand how you feel,” he said. “She’s gone after my Fanatio before. But her words are empty. She’s only jealous because she doesn’t have someone like you as her boyfriend. Let me handle her for you.”

Forcing himself to swallow his pride, Eiji curtly nodded his head and backed down. He nodded at Yuuna and Renly, motioning for the three of them to leave. They exited the school building and started to head in the direction of the bus. Right on cue, Iskahn flew towards them as soon as they neared the bus and hopped on to sit with Renly.

“Are you coming back from suspension soon?” Renly asked.

Iskahn nodded his head.

“You bet!” he said. “Why, is there someone you need me to deck?”

Eiji sat forward.

“How do you feel about hitting a woman?” he asked.

Yuuna swatted at his arm. Iskahn didn’t seem fazed by his question, though. He just turned around, flexed his right arm, and grasped his biceps with the opposite arm.

“Justice knows no gender!” Iskahn roared.

It was safe to say that Renly was done with the bus ride before the vehicle was even in motion. It appeared as though Eiji and Yuuna were picking up Iskahn’s habit of following him home. As much as he enjoyed the company, Renly couldn’t help but also feel like things were getting too noisy. They trailed into his home after him, making themselves comfortable as if they belonged there. He sighed and said he’d be running to his room for a minute. They gave him a quick acknowledgement, and he traipsed into the back of the house to toss down his bag. He stopped and looked out of the window. Jin was across from him, working away at a homework problem at his desk. Renly checked over his shoulder and pulled his window open.

Jin looked up from his desk after a moment and raised an eyebrow. He came over to the window, unlatched it, and pulled it open. The pair leaned onto their sills and stared at one another for a moment. Renly had determined to confess his crush to Jin at some point, but he still wasn’t sure how to.

“Wild day?” Jin asked.

Renly nodded.

“You could say that,” he said, chuckling. “I seem to have a habit of attracting very lively people to me.”

A smirk appeared on Jin’s face. Renly felt his heart trip a little.

“I guess I had a bit of a day, too,” he said. “Our spring formal was cancelled.”

Renly frowned.

“In the middle of the first semester?” he said.

Jin sighed and nodded.

“Yeah, it really sucks,” he said. “Apparently, a couple of seniors roped this whole group of students into pulling off a huge vandalism prank. Some of the kids thought it was funny, but the teachers were super pissed. The damages were a lot, so they’re cancelling the spring formal both as punishment and as a way to budget in the cost of the vandalism.”

Shaking his head, Renly sighed.

“That’s a shame,” he said. “Were you wanting to go?”

Laughing, Jin nodded.

“Yeah, I suppose so,” he said. “If I found a date.”

Renly felt his heart trip again. Wasn’t this his opening? Kirito would certainly tell him so. He drew in a breath and leaned forward out of the window a little more. He shut his eyes tightly and forced the words out, even if his heart was pounding with nerves.

“Th-then come to mine!” he said.

Jin dropped his gaze, surprised, and blinked at Renly.

“A-as my…as my date…” Renly said, though it couldn’t be much more than a mumble.

For an awkward moment that felt like years, silence sat between the two boys. Renly chanced looking up at Jin. The other boy’s cheeks had flushed pink. He was so shocked by this subtle reaction that he lost his balance and fell out of the window.

“Whoa, Renly!” Jin exclaimed.

He leapt out of his window and hurried over to check on him. Renly sat up and groaned, holding onto his wrist. The pain was sharp, and everything felt a bit light. Was it from asking Jin to be his date? Or was it from landing on his wrist? He couldn’t tell. He felt the world start to tip sideways. Jin reached out and caught him.

He fainted before he could even hear his answer.


	7. An Answer

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Short little follow-up chapter!!

When Renly’s eyes opened again, he was staring over at a white wall. He looked around and realized he was in a hospital bed. The fall out of the window must have been more dangerous than he’d initially thought. He stared down at his right arm and sighed. Sure enough, it was set in a cast. The pain was gone, likely because of some strong medication. He glanced over at the door to see if his mom was there when he noticed that Jin was sitting in a chair near the door, eyes closed, and head tilted to the side. He must have been asleep.

“J-Jin?” he stammered.

The other boy’s eyes flitted open. He smiled at Renly and hopped up out of the chair to come and stand beside him.

“How are you feeling?” he asked. “That was a pretty nasty fall, man!”

Renly stared down at his wrist for a moment.

“I-I can’t feel much of anything right n—”

He looked up and saw Jin was staring directly at him. His heart leapt into his mouth. That was right. He’d asked Jin to his spring formal as a date, which had shocked him enough to make him fall out of the window. Embarrassed, he turned his head the other way and bit his lip. He turned back when he heard the familiar pop! of a marker being opened. He watched as Jin wrote something on his cast. Lifting his arm, he looked at the message doodled onto it.

_Of course I’ll go dummy_ ♥

Renly smiled and felt himself tearing up. He looked back up at Jin.

“R-really?” he stammered. “You’re okay with…with being my date for the spring formal?”

Jin laughed. It was the sort of laugh he made when Renly was doing or saying something particularly ridiculous in his eyes. He stopped laughing and carefully reached over to wrap his arms around Renly’s body. Renly tensed up, feeling a bit of a numb pinch in his wrist from the squeezing.

“Ow…” he mumbled.

Jin held onto him just a bit longer.

“I thought you’d never ask,” he whispered.

Renly relaxed despite the irritating sensation in his wrist. He turned to look at Jin as he pulled away and reached out to ruffle his hair. The boy was looking at him with joy-filled eyes. Renly felt warmth in his cheeks. This was always the look Jin gave him, but it finally was clear to Renly what that look meant.

“Here I was thinking that maybe you only saw me as a best friend,” Jin said. “After you came out as ace, I never asked how you felt about people romantically. I guess I gave up when I shouldn’t have.”

Smiling, Renly found himself laughing.

“Hey? What’s so funny?” Jin asked.

Renly shook his head.

“I was scared you wouldn’t want to date an ace person,” he said. “And I had no idea what you thought of me being trans, either.”

Things worked out in strange ways. Two best friends, both equally scared of admitting that they were in love. Jin reached over and grasped Renly’s left hand, squeezing it gently. Renly returned the gesture.

“I’m glad you asked me,” Jin said. “And you know what this means, right?”

Renly raised his eyebrows.

“What?” he said.

Jin grinned at him mischievously.

“We’ve got to go try on tuxes!” he said.

The two laughed, one definitely more amused than the other. Renly hadn’t thought about that. He wasn’t ready just yet to go and assert himself at the men’s clothing stores, but it looked like he had no choice now. Luckily, the discussion was put on hold when Yuuna and Eiji hurried into the room, with Yuuna asking if Renly was okay a bit louder than she usually spoke. Eiji just shook his head and sighed when he saw the damage was just a broken wrist.

The others ended up stopping by as well. Kirito and Eugeo brought some flowers and chocolate, making it seem like Renly was some kind of very-sick in-patient. Tiese and Ronye brought him a few cards. Eldrie took it upon himself to do a couple of one-man plays for Renly and Jin, which was probably an indicator that he was lonely. Iskahn dragged Sheyta in for a bit of “encouragement.” Even Alice stopped by to check on him (and left with Eldrie in tow).

“When did you get so popular?” Jin asked, laughing.

Renly just smiled. He wasn’t sure how that had happened, but he was grateful to all of his new friends for how much they cared. And even more than that, he was grateful that he was finally able to take the first step towards starting a relationship with Jin. He supposed falling out of a window did, in a funny way, have its perks.


End file.
